35 Questions

Rewen swept the dust off his uniform as he got up.

He was thrown in a store room with his hands and feet tied up. He wasn't really scared because of the sudden turn of events. Why? Because he was strong.

'Hm, this ought to be the so-called 'mischief' in the clue. The real problem starts now. From their conversation, I got to know that the whole slum is a disgusting mess. Apparently, they kidnap a weak-looking person and sell their body organs. The worst part is that even kids were included in their schemes. I should call the cops… oh, well. My hands and feet are still tied. Let's see if I can break this with my strength.'

He exerted all his strength into his hands and tried breaking the rope.

"Nope. Strength Check Failed."

Next, he tried after activating the [Freestyle Knights Combat] technique.

"Strength Check Passed! Uh, I should learn to control my voice."

He took out his phone which he hid away in his crotch. 

"Hello?"

"Hello. I'm speaking from the town slum area."

"Ok. Is there any problem?"

"Indeed. I have been kidnapped by a group of people shortly after I arrived in the slums. I pretended to be unconscious after they hit me in the back."

"Wait. Wait. Wait. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. How much time would it take the cops to arrive?"

"No more than twenty minutes! Stay strong! We'll be there soon!"

*Beep*

Cutting off the call, he muttered in an audible voice. "I guess twenty minutes is more than enough." To get himself kidnapped, he had his own plans. He figured since the clue is too vague, he had to design his own theory to complete the quest and he did have a hypothesis in his mind. 'No, not even a hypothesis. At this point, I'm just guessing. There should be an organ trader the people in the slums are associated with. Maybe that person could lead me to 'X' or something like that…' Pausing for a moment, he sighed. 'I need to work on my intellect. Not that I have a wisdom stat or anything.'

Cracking his arms and fingers, he headed towards the door and tried opening it. 'It is left open? Are they idiots? Who gave them the criminal degree of trading organs?'

"Eh?"

"Ah!"

Rewen found himself locking gazes with a group of more than twenty people. The people include old, middle-aged and young children of both the genders. He thought of a couple of scenarios in his mind after he opened the door and the present scenario didn't escape his imagination but that didn't decrease the surprise he was feeling.

"Eduar! Badok! And the others! Hurry to him!" A bald man shouted as soon as he spotted Rewen.

"Stop." In the face of six men running to him, Rewen opened his mouth. "Unless you want to mess with a Ranked Mage."

Of course, no one stopped.

Rewen didn't have any change in expression on his face as he anticipated the response. He sighed lightly and stepped back leaning on the wall of the store room. The men rushing towards him had their eyes shined thinking that he was afraid.

"What ranked mage? Do we look like fo-"

*Boom!*

Everyone stopped in their tracks as they failed to comprehend the abnormality that just occurred. The store room behind their captive just gone blown away. As the dust settled, none of them had the strength left to move forward. Three of them even fell on their butts.

"He used a hand?"

"Correct. Seems like this is the end." A middle-aged man sighed. His name is Mark, also the unofficial leader of the group. Knowing it's futile to resist, he gave in.

The rest of the group looked unwilling but they still gave in.

Rewen folded his legs and sat on the ground. "Everyone sit down. I have some questions. If you are willing to respond truthfully and respectfully, I won't disclose the matter of organ trading to the cops."

Silence reigned the area.

Mark immediately replied. "What organ trading? We don't do that-"

"Are you seriously a five-year old? Okay, tell me why would I mention organ trading? Surely, I must have heard it somewhere. Even if you keep denying, the second I mention the word 'organ trading' to the cops, what do you think will happen?" Rewen paused for a second. "Alright, here's your chance. Answer some of my questions and all of you including your families will only be held accountable for my kidnapping. Agreed?"

Mark looked at the group who were nodding. "What are your questions?"

"Where is the person whom you trade organs to?"

"We don't know his name but he comes here every month when we call him. He shouldn't live too far from here."

"Where does he sell?"

"He mentioned selling it to a hospital but I don't know where."

"Call him."

"Now?"

"How much time does he usually take to come?"

"Not less than forty minutes."

"Tell him to come."

As Mark was doing as he was told, Rewen was observing the group. There were all kinds of people. From a boy as young as three to a sick-looking elderly. Mothers were hugging their kids while the fathers were guarding them. If possible, he didn't want to see something the human-side of them. They had been involved in one of the darkest sides of mankind. He had zero sympathy for them. When he said he won't talk about their organ trading business to the cops, he lied.

As he was looking around in boredom, a woman came up to him. Her eyes fidgeted and her body language clearly told that she was afraid of the person in front of her. "I-I have a request."

"What?"

"Co-could the children be exempted from punishment? They had no part in the business and only did as we told them to."

"Nope." Rewen denied her request flatly. The children are potential murderers. Growing up in such a place, their minds also had been twisted. It's not that people can't be changed but the risk is too high. Indirectly killing so many innocents, he wouldn't be surprised if some of the children grew up to be a criminal.

"Please… I-I promise-"

"Do I need to make myself clear?"

***

"That should be it. Although I must say, your reward would not be small." The cop smiled with a small notebook in his hands. He was the same person who had been involved in the aftermath of Rewen's fight against Ruby. Seeing him was a huge coincidence.

Rewen laughed lightly. "I'm looking forward to it. By the way, I want to keep this confidential. Don't alert the academy." What Rewen did was a big deal. In situations like these, the academies are the first persons to have a grin. 'Politics is boring and uninteresting.' However, this wasn't the main reason he wanted to keep the matter confidential. He could potentially be manipulated by the academy but the gains outweigh the losses.

He was afraid of the devil woman. After the incident last night, catching her attention was the last thing he could do. 'Lying low is probably the best option.'

"Fine." The cop nodded with an understanding smile.

"Excuse me, Mr. Bamin. We are ready to depart." A cop politely interjected.

Mr. Bamin, the cop Rewen was talking to, nodded, then looked at Rewen. "Well, I want to drop you off but the cars only had so much space. See ya!"

Rewen watched as the twelve cars left his sight slowly. Originally, only a single car had come with Mr. Bamin in it. When he realized the severity of the situation, he quickly ordered more cars. Due to this reason, there was a time delay resulting in a loophole in his plans. For him to interrogate the trade dealer, he couldn't let him meet the cop. Thankfully, that didn't happen.

'It has been fifty minutes. Did he run away after seeing the commotion? Probably.'